new york and chicago were the only cities where prices took a drop from last year. however, markets that had been struggling to regain strength are now showing signs of life, including phoenix, where prices are up for the 13th straight month. that relative strength in home prices and continued low interest rates may bring more home buyers back into real estate in 2013. but even with sales of new and existing homes showing a spike, don't expect a big housing boom like the one we saw just a few years ago. maurizio fiori is hoping to buy a home in 2013. he's looking to move his growing family out of their chicago apartment and into their very own home. 'i've been scouring the internet, and talking to agents and mls and all the sites almost daily.' a former trader, fiori holds stakes in a diversified portfolio of successful small businesses, including a wine importing company and a craft brewer. in 2006, before the worst of the financial crisis hit, many banks would have been bending over backwards to lend him lots of money at exotic terms. today, even though he's willi